Good customer service is the foundation of success in the business world. The success of a business enterprise without good customer service is just unimaginable. It creates a beautiful experience for your customers, makes a positive impression, enhances brand value, increases name and fame, and attracts more customers to your organization. Numerous researches are being done to find ways to ensure good customer service, and many methods are found. But what are the three key elements of good customer service? In this article, we will try to discuss this.
The three key elements of good customer service
1. Good customer service comes from Motivation
Good customer service starts with having the right underlying attitudes and motivations. To ensure good customer service, you have to hire people with the right customer service mentality who want to help and satisfy their customers.
You have to encourage the right focus and attitudes by talking positively about customers in the organization, repeatedly communicating the importance of customer service for the success of your business.
Moreover, training employees on the customer service practices your organization has decided to emphasize, and recognizing employees who serve the customer extraordinarily well.
Key employee attitudes that drive good customer service include viewing customers positively. Understanding that customer service is essential to the organization’s success, feeling motivated, and accountable for providing good customer service, having the information and tools needed to provide good customer service.
One way to motivate employees is to confer them with the necessary power to make decisions in crucial customer service moments. Other methods include providing competitive compensation, training, career growth, and a friendly work environment.
2. KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude) is a must!
It is impossible to provide good customer service without sufficient professional knowledge, skills, and attitude. So, hire qualified employees. Try to retain them.
Instead of hiring employees and letting them learn through trial and error on the job, teach them the necessary skills. Focus on such characteristics as adaptability, empathy, clear communication, and patience. While some traits come naturally, others can be taught and perfected.
Always try to provide quality products and services. A quality product without good customer service can be useless, but you can have a robust operation if these two factors collaborate. Good customer service is greatly enhanced by having quality products and services that minimize customer complaints and significant issues that generate dissatisfaction.
3. Good customer service is nothing but effective communication
Customers don’t buy products or services; they buy solutions to problems. The better we solve those problems, the more appreciative they are, and the better their experiences in dealing with your business. The better you know your customers, the better you can anticipate their needs.
Good customer service requires mastering communication. Without quality communication through various channels such as face-to-face, over the phone, or via email, service will suffer.
Customer service issues almost always arise from a failure to communicate appropriately. For example, customers may not know what to expect or may not be accurately informed of changes and schedules. Customers also could perceive a lack of responsiveness or courtesy. The underlying problem in all of these issues is a failure to communicate well.
Learn how to communicate
Communication with customers involves listening and understanding your customer’s viewpoint or problem, handling emotions, organizing and preparing one’s thoughts, speaking clearly, responding to or following up on questions directly and promptly, watching non-verbal cues like tone and body language, and so on.
Communication is both an art and a science and needs the practice to master it. Building self-awareness of communication strengths and weaknesses and teaching skills through training, role-playing, scripts, and conversation coaching are just a few methods to drive better customer service. Employees must practice, engage in the changed behaviors, and obtain feedback as they are doing so by a trained professional.
Listen patiently
When a customer is telling you his issue, please give them your complete attention. Customers consistently tell us they hate dealing with employees who don’t listen or pay attention. When you begin talking with a customer, stop whatever else you are doing, and focus on them.
Don’t multi-task. Don’t half-listen. Write down what they are telling you and get specifics from them. Make appropriate eye contact, listen, nod, and show them you are paying attention. Then confirm that you understand.
A good customer service representative focuses on getting to know the customer, asking questions, and, most importantly – listening. A bad CSR talks too much and doesn’t do a proper discovery and diagnosis of the core issues. As the representative learns more, he or she will guide the customer to the next step on the journey.
Respond positively
Now you have to respond positively. You need not change your entire business model or product line to suit various customers’ demands. Seek ways to help your customers and give them what they are looking for without compromising your company or products.
In most cases, requests will be relatively straightforward and achievable. Even if they are unreasonable or appear impossible to fulfill, offer to look into the matter and promise to come back with an answer within a specified time. Look for ways to make it easy to do business with you. And always do what you promise.
Don’t hesitate to admit your mistake. To err is human. Always remember to own your mistakes instead of placing blame elsewhere, and take the necessary actions to ensure you never make the same mistake twice
Never forget to say, “Thank you!” It will establish a warm relation with your customer.
Though there are more than 101 tools to ensure good customer service, if you strictly follow the above mentioned three key elements of good customer service, you are possibly on the right way to success in your business. Best of luck!
References
3 Keys to Good Customer Service. https://www.yourerc.com/blog/post/3-Keys-to-Good-Customer-Service
Five Essential Elements for Great Customer Service. https://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=90458
The 7 Keys to Great Customer Service | CustomerThink. https://customerthink.com/the-7-keys-to-great-customer-service/